Pen Nib’s First Move

At a glance

• Part 1: Strike first, then Cleave, deals 20 damage.
• Part 2: Cleave first, then Strike, deals 22 damage, which is 2 more.

1. Strike first

Pen Nib doubles Strike’s 6 damage:

6 +6 =12

Cleave then deals its normal 8 damage:

12 +8 =20

The Ironclad deals 20 total damage.

2. Change only the order

If Cleave is first, Pen Nib doubles its 8 damage:

8 +8 =16

Strike then deals its normal 6 damage:

16 +6 =22

So Cleave first, then Strike, is the better order. It deals 22 total damage.

Why the order matters

The two plans both include one normal 6 and one normal 8. Pen Nib adds one extra copy of the first Attack’s damage:

• Strike first adds an extra 6.
• Cleave first adds an extra 8.

The ordinary sum stays the same, but the extra copy is larger when Cleave goes first. That makes the better total exactly 8 −6 =2 damage greater.

Check

22 −20 =2, so the two totals differ by the same amount as the two normal Attack values.